The Anderson County High School girls’ basketball team will be getting ready for a busy Christmas holiday season as the Lady Bearcats host Shelby County Thursday and then come back to entertain Eminence Saturday afternoon.

Next Wednesday, the Lady Bearcats open the Christmas tournament season in the prestigious Queen of the Commonwealth tourney at Bullitt East High School. The Lady Bearcats take on Louisville Assumption in the first round.

The Anderson County High School boys’ basketball team embarks on a busy week with road games that could go either way.

Thursday, the Bearcats visit Eighth Region rival Grant County in a renewal of a series that has been dormant since the 2010-11 season. (The teams did meet three years ago in a tournament at Clinton County.)

The Braves are expected to be competitive in 2018-19 and were picked eighth in the Eighth Region pre-season poll of region coaches by The Cats’ Pause. Anderson was picked ninth.

Anderson County guards Tyler Rice and Alex Carpenter unleashed a blizzard of three-pointers Saturday as the Bearcats rallied to beat Bethlehem, 64-49, In the Bardstown Tipoff Classic at Bardstown High School.

Rice nailed four long balls in the first half as part of his game-high 23-point effort. Carpenter added 18 points, bagging six home run balls.

“Tyler got hot in the second quarter,” Anderson coach Bryan Hyatt said. “He hit four (threes) in a row and we know he can do that. He was playing well in the first half.”